


Hold Up!

by Snurtlicious



Series: I'm With You AU [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, anyway, ft. rintori from another of my fics, momo is a college student that gets rescued by cop!sousuke during a bank heist, that sort of became a weird future fish au, this was just a soumomo fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-08-21
Packaged: 2018-04-16 10:22:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4621716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snurtlicious/pseuds/Snurtlicious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After getting caught in a bank robbery, Momo is rescued by a dreamy cop that he can't stop thinking about! After making some poor decisions and making a new friend in class, he finally has his reunion with the man of his dreams. Momo's afraid his fantasies won't quite pan out like he thought they would after an accident when they reunite.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hold Up!

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't read the fic by me titled "I'm With You", you probably won't understand some of the Rintori interactions, but it's not really an integral part of the story. You should check it out though if you like this one! ;)

The summer sun beat down on the dark gray pavement, making the whole afternoon into a dreary mess. Momo had spent a long day working his summer job as a cashier in a back-road convenience store, and had finally gotten his first paycheck. The redhead was totally ready to go down and cash it, wondering if maybe he could ask someone cute out on a date with his own money.

The inside of the bank was an air conditioned wonderland of long lines and black marble tiles. The guy in front of Momo in line acted a bit antsy as they finally got close to the front, but Momo was too busy checking out the hot bank teller. It was all sort of sudden when a gun appeared and then Momo was on the floor behind a potted tree while trying not to cry.

Maybe he would’ve done something daring and virtuous and rescued everyone in the room with him, but the rifle that was being waved around liberally made him turn tail. It was a tense few moments until the police sirens approached in the distance. Momo didn’t even know that the police would bust inside with bulletproof vests, nor did he realize that the shooter was aiming right for him.

He winced at the muzzle flash, waiting for an impact that never came. In that second, the entire world quieted while Momo examined the face of the man in front of him. He was hunched over on the ground, breathing heavily. It didn’t appear that he was actually bleeding, but the bullet had knocked the wind out of the officer. In the background, another uniformed man tackled the shooter and incapacitated him.

“Are y-you alright?” Momo shouted, afraid to touch the beautiful man in front of him. A pair of turquoise eyes opened and then a smirk played on the man’s lips and he fell back onto his butt.

“Stop crying, kid. You’re going to be fine.” The man reached up with a gloved hand and ruffled Momo’s hair, wincing a little. Another officer came and lifted him up to carry him off to the paramedics. Momo sat there for a while longer, trying to wrap his head around what had happened. He ended up not cashing his paycheck that day and returning to his apartment with a in a daze.

After that fateful encounter, Momo began acting more reckless than he might have otherwise. He began to spend more time on the bad side of town, in places where no normal civilians should ever have been. He figured that his chances of the hunky police officer saving his life a second time would go way up! It was probably a serious lapse in judgment, on the off chance that the officer didn’t respond, but Momo desperately wanted to see him again. He was determined to make that boy his bride.

Or so he thought, anyway. It had been months of frequenting backstreet bars and alleyways. There had been one near-miss when a few drug dealers thought he was trying to move in on their territory, but he wimped out and ran screaming before they could catch him. Since then, there had only been one person that caught his eye.

In his foreign language class, English, guy had this cute silver bob, crystal clear eyes, and a cute little mole near his eye. Before then Momo had only liked bigger, beefy guys, but there was something indescribably adorable about the other boy that he couldn’t parse out. Momo always played it cool around him, but the silver-haired kid never seemed to notice.

Still getting used to his new class schedule, Momo rolled in a few minutes late and was psyched to see that the only seat left was next to the cutie. Talk about a golden opportunity, Momo told himself, graciously taking the seat.

“You can copy what I have since you were late.” He offered, turning his watery gaze onto Momo. Not only was his voice adorable too, but his handwriting was small and bubbly. It was everything when compared to Momo’s excited scrawl and it made him a bit nervous that maybe his notes weren’t quite up to par. Perhaps Momo could mask asking him on a date with studying?

That made Momo a bit antsy during lecture. He could barely pay attention to the professor and he was sure that his notes had totally missed out on something as basic as the alphabet. Why did they even make him take a foreign language like English? He was never going to leave Japan!

By the time class had ended, Momo had completely lost his cool. He’d nervously balled his hands in fists against his orange check shirt. He’d never been forced into a situation with someone so precious for so long! Before he realized it, cutie was already halfway out the door. Momo haphazardly tossed his stuff into his messenger bag and ran after him. He needed to hurry or he’d miss his chance to ask him for ‘study help’!

Stepping out of the door, he was already nowhere to be seen. Momo looked around, wondering which way had cutie gone and how he moved so quickly. He twisted sharply just in time to catch sight of him rounding a corner. It was a bit weird that he would be taking the back exit since not many people lived out that way without taking a bike, but maybe he enjoyed a walk?

“H-hey!” Momo called after him, a little winded from all the powerwalking. “Wait up a sec!”

Cutie jumped a little and stopped walking. His eyes were wide in worry, but they softened when they landed on Momo. Good sign. “Oh, it’s you. Did you need to copy the rest of my notes? I think our first quiz is next week.” He pulled his bag up and rummaged round inside of it.

Without thinking, Momo opened his mouth. “I was actually hoping I could get you to go out with me.” He paused. “For studying! I mean for studying. I’m Momotarou, but you can call me Momo!” It was the nickname his mom had given him since his hair was orange like a peach. It had been a great conversation starter for some of his past dates.

Cutie’s eyes flicked back up and his hands dropped to his sides. “Oh.” His cheeks turned a little pink, but Momo couldn’t tell if it was from the heat of the day or from his super smooth moves. He hoped it was the latter. “I’m Aiichirou, but you can call me Nitori.” His voice came out even cuter than it had before. Major score.

“Wait, you mean you don’t go by Ai?” Momo teased, laying a bit of flirtation on.

“N-no!” He shook his head violently. “Nitori is fine, really.” Suddenly, a loud duck quack resounded out from his bag. “Oh, that’s probably Rin wondering where I am.” That couldn’t be… a girlfriend? There was no way someone that small and achingly stunning could be hetero. “Do you want to come and study for a while? I think there should be food, and I don’t mind sharing.” Hook, line, and sinker. Momo Mikoshiba still had all the sick moves that won over everyone. Babes or hunks, no one was immune to his charms.

“Of course! I could never turn down a free meal with a cute guy like you.” He blurted out before he could stop himself, eliciting a brighter blush from Nitori.

“Alright, I guess…” he held his bag tightly to his side as they walked. Momo knew it was because he was totally nailing down the flirtation. How couldn’t he?

“So where are you from?” Momo asked, knowing it was a really basic question that most university students asked each other when they first met. “I lived a few towns over, but now I live with my big bro in an apartment near the school, but on the other side.”

Nitori nodded. “I lived with my parents in a town a few hours north until last year.” He pulled his phone back out and fired off a quick text message. “Now I live right up here.” He pointed towards a big building. “The window with the duck in it is mine.” Awesome. Momo could see himself standing outside at three a.m. with some pebbles and using them to get Nitori’s attention. How romantic!

“Cool, you live way closer than I do. It’s a good ten minute walk from campus back home.” Momo complained, noting the police car parked right in front of the room Nitori had pointed to. Was this area sketchier than he thought?

“It’s kind of nice, yeah.” He brushed off Momo’s comment off, approaching a gray door and twisting the key in the lock. “Rin, I’m home!” He called. Momo stepped into a cool hallway, thankful for the respite from the heat. The walls were painted the same boring gray color as the door, but at least the carpet was a nice hardy beige.

The last thing that Momo expected to see was a tall guy in a police uniform with a perfectly styled mop of dark red hair in the main room. “Hey Ai.” He smirked, taking a few steps towards them. Why did the cop have… such pointy teeth, and more importantly, why did Momo think it was hot? Maybe he was a corrupt officer and secretly a yakuza! Still hot. “Hey, you made a friend! Good job.” Momo wondered if he had a thing for a man in uniform.

“Y-yeah, this is Momo.” Nitori gestured back, a flash of silver that Momo hadn’t noticed before gleamed on his finger in the dim fluorescent lighting. “Momo, this is Rin, my boyfriend.” Wait, what?

“Wait, what?” Momo repeated in shock. Two hot guys had been thrust into his lap, not literally, and they were both taken. Suck. However, that begged another question. “Do you know another cop, really tall, prettiest blue eyes in the world, killer smile? Can I have his number?”

Rin blinked a few times then raised an eyebrow. “Huh?” Momo jumped when the door clicked open behind him.

“Oi, I’m he— oh.” A man’s voice called out and Momo could hardly believe his eyes. For once, and probably the only time in his life when he wasn’t at gunpoint, Momo was speechless.

“I was wondering what was taking you so long to change, Sousuke.” Rin called, either forgetting or glossing over the question Momo had asked.

“And that explains why you’re standing around in your uniform still.” He shook his head. “You know if you mess it up, that’s an infraction. You’re still in training, don’t make me rat you out to the chief.” His voice was as perfect as Momo had remembered and, if anything, he was even more muscular. He wore a red shirt over a pair of denim shorts, but it showed off his arms and legs and a bit of a tan line on his chest.

“Let’s go, Momo. They’re going to watch a car auction or something on TV.” Nitori grabbed Momo’s sleeve and started pulling him away. As far as Momo’s concern went, with the world’s hottest cop in the room… Nitori who?

“Nitori, you have to tell me his name.” Momo begged as soon as they were seated at the table. Momo strategically chose his seat so that he could watch beefier cop’s back.

“Rin literally said his name as soon as he walked in the room.” Nitori rolled his eyes, maybe a little exasperated with how quickly Momo had switched points of interest. “It’s Sousuke Yamazaki. He’s Rin’s senior at work.”

Perfect name for a perfect bod—uh, person. It probably wouldn’t just be that giant sculpted body. His personality would be amazing and Momo would fall even more for that dorky smile he’d given him at the bank. “Perfect…” Momo sighed dreamily.

“Hey, focus!” Nitori slammed a textbook down on the table. “If you want to stay for dinner, then you have to study now. You can fawn over Musclehead Jockcop later.”

Momo’s winced like he’d been slapped. “Alright, fine, but you’ve gotta help me score a date with him or his number or something.” Momo made him promise. “I don’t think I’ve ever had it this bad before.”

Nitori slid a notebook across the table full of weird symbols that Momo only vaguely recognized. “What’s this?”

“The English alphabet?” Nitori shook his head. “Look, you have to know it before next week or else you automatically fail the course. The professor is a total nut, but I have to do well.” Momo cringed. Why were some professors such hardasses?

“Fine, let’s get on with it already.” He shrugged it off. “There’s a hot cop with my name on it right over there.” Momo looked at the back of his head.

“How did you even know him, anyway?” Nitori asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

“He took a bullet for me at that big bank robbery a few months back.” Momo sighed, turning into a low giggle at the end. He had it so badly that he couldn’t even think… well, straight.

“Whoa, I forgot that happened.” Nitori grimaced. “Thankfully, that was before Rin started patrolling. I’m always afraid something is going to happen to him, y’know?”

“Uh, not really? I’ve never dated a member of the force before.” But he would be soon, barring nothing going horribly, horribly wrong.

“Right, whatever, we need to study.” Nitori put them back on track. Studying was slow and boring and Momo still found it difficult to concentrate with the god’s most amazing creation screaming about cars a few feet away.

“So all I have to do is remember the song, right?” Momo questioned, making sure that it was as crucial as Nitori had promised.

“Yes, Rin lived in Australia for a few years when he was younger and he taught it to me.” Nitori avoided more studying. “That’s really it for this quiz. I think we’re starting on stuff like ‘my name is’ and things like that after the quiz, so you might want to read ahead in the book.”

“What?” Momo replied immediately. Read ahead? Who had time for that? “Forget it, can we eat now?” There was a beef roll that he’d had his sights set on since they got there, oh, and a turkey sandwich.

“Yeah, sure. They’re probably tired of waiting for us to finish studying anyway.” Nitori dropped his pencil with a dull click and slogged over to tell them that it was finally time to eat.

“I was wondering when you two were going to be done serenading us with the ABCs.” Rin laughed, wrapping his arm around Nitori’s shoulder, eliciting a small chuckle from him. Show off.

“We had to study, and I have you to teach me when I need help, so I should at least pass it on if I can.” He snuggled up to Rin awfully quickly and flashed that freaking ring again. What was up with that? Were they married or what?

“Alright, that’s enough.” Sousuke grumbled, walking over and pulling the plastic lid off the sandwich tray. “I thought we were getting right to it, not learning how to sing in another language and acting like lovesick idiots.”

“Y-yeah!” Momo agreed quickly, shuffling over to pick up the turkey sandwich on top. However, as soon as he grabbed the side of it, Sousuke’s hand immediately clasped the other one.

“Oh really now?” He scoffed. “Come on, kid, I’ve been working all day, let me have the only turkey one.” He called him kid again, like that day. Momo’s heart fluttered and he concocted a brilliant spur of the moment idea.

“Okay,” he agreed. “But you have to kiss me instead!” He grinned, knowing he nailed it.

“Is this middle school again? You can’t be serious.” Sousuke shook his head, picking up the sandwich. Momo pouted a little, but didn’t relent.

“I am completely serious! I want you to kiss me.” He insisted. God, why was he being so difficult? Why couldn’t he realize that they were soulmates?

“Jeez, kid. I don’t really go for the younger crowd, what are you, seventeen?” He retorted, not budging an inch either way.

“I turn twenty in a couple months, for your information!” Momo was getting tired of Sousuke being so evasive. He had pictured them meeting again for months and this was how it finally happened?

“You’re not even legal drinking age?” He replied with a chuckle. “Where do you two find these guys?”

“Hey!” Momo stepped around the table so that he was standing almost as close as possible to Sousuke without touching him. The unamused eyes that stared down at him began to make his confidence waver. Things were definitely not going how they were supposed to. “I’ll take that sandwich back if you don’t give me a kiss.”

“You know what? Fine.” He sighed. “But after this, you’ve got to back off and leave me alone.” No!

“But…” Momo frowned. “I like you, I’ve liked you for a while.” How had he become the blushing female in this situation? Whatever, drastic times called for drastic shoving his tongue into Sousuke’s mouth.

“What are you talking about? I don’t even know who you are.” Sousuke replied, grabbing Momo’s chin. “Let’s get this over with already.” Momo felt his heartrate pick up as the object of his fantasies leaned down. Sousuke’s lips were soft and warm, but all too unyielding. As soon as Momo brought the tongue out, Sousuke stepped back. “Really? Shoving your tongue in my mouth isn’t a great way to introduce yourself.”

“You do know me, you saved my life in a bank robbery a couple months back!” Momo admitted finally, grabbing onto Sousuke’s shoulders. Sousuke winced a bit and the sandwich fell to the floor. What happened?

“Damn it!” He spat, shirking out of Momo’s grasp. “I should’ve let you get shot. Now I have to eat ham.” Sousuke grumbled under his breath.

“Sousuke, that’s a little uncalled for.” Rin spoke up, cutting in between them before anything could go wrong, well, wrong-er. Momo wasn’t sure whether he should be disappointed or heartbroken. How could dreamboat be so… abrasive? He had seemed like such an amazing man in all of Momo’s fantasies.

“Whatever, let’s eat before someone ruins the rest of the food.” Sousuke raised his voice and Momo flinched.

“Sorry, I… I’m going to leave.” Momo grabbed his bag off the table and headed towards the door, mortified at how poorly he’d handled the situation. He didn’t really understand why his fantasies never panned out right in real life.

Nitori stopped him, wearing a look of mild concern himself. “Wait, Momo, you don’t have to leave. It’s not that big of a deal, Sousuke’s a grumpy butt sometimes.”

“No way, I already failed so there’s no use in sticking around when I’m going to make a fool out of myself.” Momo felt disheartened. He thought it was exactly like Romeo and Juliet except they were both men, no one had died, committed suicide, or even fallen in love yet, really.

Nitori shook his head. “Look, if you want to get back on his good side, there’s a convenience store down the street and we have a loaf of bread that you can use.”

“Okay, and your point is?” Momo responded, eliciting an exasperated groan from Nitori.

“Go to the store, buy more turkey, bring it back, and make Sousuke a turkey sandwich.” He replied slowly, making sure to spell it out for Momo in the simplest way possible. “And watch out for his shoulder next time. He got hurt on the job and doesn’t like to talk about it.”

Momo was confused about it, but didn’t pry. He had turkey on the brain and wanted Sousuke in his arms. “Right, that’s a good idea!” He gasped. “Take my bag and I’ll be back in two minutes.” He quickly chunked his bag into Nitori’s arms. “And don’t let him eat anything else until I get back, Nitori. I’m counting on you, dude.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you are.” Nitori turned with a flutter of lashes and Momo slipped back out into the summer heat.

After wandering around the neighborhood for a good fifteen minutes, Momo spotted the store that Nitori had mentioned and hurried inside. Momo sprinted past the other aisles and made a beeline for the freezer on the side. Pulling open one of the clear glass doors, Momo felt a cool puff of frigid air overwhelm him as he searched for turkey.

Finally, he spotted it in the back, stuck away behind some ham. He had never been quite so giddy in his entire life! Everyone knew that the quickest way to a man’s heart was through his stomach, and let’s say that Momo knew Sousuke would have a really big stomach.

As he approached the counter, Momo idly thought the man working behind the counter looked a bit familiar. However, he was far too distracted by getting that meat into Sousuke and redeeming himself that he couldn’t be bothered.

There was so much hope in Momo’s heart as he shoved the apartment door open that he felt like he would explode. It would probably kill him if he thought Sousuke hated him so this was all he could do to make up for what he’d done. He was extra thankful to see that Nitori had already gotten out the bread and condiments for the sandwiches. Regardless of how cute he was, it seemed like he’d also be a reliable friend.

“What the hell are you two up to?” Rin asked, stepping over to where Momo brandished a butter knife. “Sousuke’s pretty pissed that he’s not allowed to eat. I’ve never seen Ai act like such a… dick about something before.”

“Hey! Just because I had to use a bit of force doesn’t mean that I was a… dick.” Nitori shot back, pointing at Rin menacingly. The two seemed to be like an old married couple to Momo, but who knew what their deal even was? Admittedly, he was envious of their relationship. He needed to lock down Sousuke with the quickness.

“Who cares? Someone give me something to eat or you’re all spending the night in a holding cell!” Sousuke shouted, cueing Momo to make with the sandwiches. He hesitated for a second before padding across the carpet with a paper plate in his hands.

“H-here, I made you a turkey sandwich to make up for earlier.” Momo handed off the plate, noting that Sousuke’s irritated expression seemed to lighten up. He lifted one of them up to inspect it.

“What’s on ‘em?” He questioned, lifting the bread with one of his fingers.

“Turkey, mayo, and mustard?” Momo replied, afraid that Sousuke would hate it and then him even more.

Sousuke nodded. “Good,” he picked up the top one and took a bite. After a quiet and thoughtful moment that made Momo die, Sousuke finally replied. “Thanks, kid.”

Momo could hardly resist the big smirk that came to his face. He was winning! “The name’s Momotarou, but you can call me Momo!”

Sousuke chuckled a little through a bite of food. “Is that ‘cause your hair is orange like a peach?”

“Yeah, that’s it!” Momo felt like he was glowing. It had all taken a turn for the right at the last moment and he was so glad.

“Sousuke.” He replied, thrusting a hand out. Oh god, Momo was about to _touch him_. Momo’s hand was positively trembling when Sousuke shook it, feeling how big and warm it was and how right it felt. Momo didn’t want to let go.

“Please go out with me!” He tossed his head down in a bow, hoping that Sousuke would bite (him).

“Look, kid, I mean, Momo.” Sousuke huffed. “I’m not really looking for anyone right now. You should find a kid on campus to date.” Right, like that had worked out so well for him.

“No! It has to be you!” Momo reached forward, grabbing onto Sousuke’s beefy arm instead of his shoulders. “I’ve been thinking about you ever since you took that bullet for me, Sousuke. You were so cool and hot and I can’t get you out of my head!”

Sousuke turned cold and pushed Momo off a little harsher than he had earlier. “Stop bringing that up. I don’t want to remember that it happened.” Sousuke rose from the couch, tossing the paper plate onto the coffee table. “I’m out of here, thanks for dinner.”

Sousuke was intimidatingly tall, but that didn’t deter Momo from following him outside. “Wait, please! I’m sorry, I won’t say it again!” Man, this was so much more high maintenance that Momo was expecting.

“Look, I’m twenty-three, you’re nineteen. There’s too much of an age gap between us and you’re a college student! I’m a fucked up police officer in a crummy local beat and there’s seriously not any future with a guy like me. Move on, kid.” Sousuke shoved Momo away, not noticing the few guys that were approaching from down the street.

“But I don’t care about that!” Momo rebutted. “I’ve been thinking about you for so long that it’s no good if it’s anyone else!”

“Oh, are we interrupting a lover’s spat?” A guy with some greasy looking hair stepped up on Momo. “I was wondering when you were gonna show your little orange head again, dude. You owe me some cash for cruising on my turf or, uh, we’re gonna pound your homo boyfriend here to a pulp.” He sneered and Momo was sure that the guy didn’t own a toothbrush.

“I’m not his boyfriend, and what the hell is this guy talking about? Have you been dealing drugs or something?” Sousuke pressed, subtly taking a defensive stance in case one of the three guys rushed him.

“No!” Momo shouted, scared out of his mind. “Well, uh, you’re going to laugh. After the thing that I’m not going to mention again, I started… frequenting bad places? I wanted to see you again, but I never got your name, so I did stupid stuff and hoped you would come rescue me.” Like the dark knight, but with hopefully less dead parents.

“That’s a cute story.” Greaseball sneered. “Now pay up or the big guy gets it.”

“But… I don’t have any more cash! I’m a student, what makes you think I have money?” Momo pleaded, wondering how they were going to get out of it. One of the guys stepped forward with a baseball bat, spurring Sousuke into action.

Sousuke met the bat with his right hand, ripping it out of the criminal’s hand and tossing it loudly against the door. “Get Rin!” He yelled, taking a fist up to another man that rushed him.

Momo was frozen in place. How could he leave when Sousuke was defending his honor? He swallowed hard as he picked the baseball bat up and jumped in front of him. “G-get back! I’ll kick your asses if you lay a hand on him!”

“What the hell are you doing? You have a death wish?” Sousuke shouted, his fist whizzing past Momo’s ear into the face of the greasy sleazeball. “I can’t leave you alone for a second without you getting into some trouble, can I?”

The criminal staggered back and clutched his bloody nose. “You fucking fags, I’m gonna kill you!” When he lurched forward with his brass-knuckled fist up, Momo jumped and his arms swung out like he was about to hit a grand slam and win the entire game for his team. The bat made solid contact into the side of the guy’s head and he went down like a sack of rocks.

“Ha! Take that!” Momo surprised himself, and the other two guys ran off before they had to face the overwhelming couple. Momo nearly swung again when Sousuke’s hands came down on his shoulders and spun him around.

“What were you thinking? I told you to get Rin for a reason!” Sousuke admonished him. “I can’t fight these guys like I used to, not since I took that bullet for you in the bank. It messed my shoulder up, Momo. I work a desk job now, I’m not out bringing in perps like this dick like I used to.” He admitted. “Don’t go out and do stupid shit anymore because I won’t be able to save you.” Sousuke pulled him into a tight hug.

The bat fell from Momo’s hands and clattered loudly against the ground. That explained so much, but made him feel so horrible. “Then why did you take that bullet for me? Are you telling me I destroyed your dream?”

Sousuke winced, like there was something he couldn’t say. “No, it’s not like that. I became an officer because I wanted to help and protect people, but… you cried for me and you didn’t even know me.” His hands fell back to his sides, letting Momo take a step back. “I didn’t forget that. It’s been helping me through physical therapy, Momo. I probably won’t be able to be on any special ops teams again, but I can still protect you from assholes like that.”

Momo was overwhelmed, but Sousuke knew who he was the entire time? Was he playing it cool to try to get Momo to fawn over him? That was too adorable, Momo couldn’t even stand it. “Does that mean you’ll go out with me for real?”

“Yes,” he replied. “I will.” Momo was so happy that maybe he had to cry a little. He was finally getting the sweet date with the hottest police officer around, how could he do anything else? “Are you really crying again?”

“Of course! Let’s go on that date right now, I know the perfect place.” Momo grabbed Sousuke’s hand, hoping that he wasn’t about to yank on his bad shoulder. Sousuke chuckled a bit.

“Let’s get Rin to arrest this guy and take him in first. Seriously, extortion and assault with a deadly weapon? This guy’s going in for the long haul.” Sousuke sighed, knocking on Rin and Nitori’s apartment door.

Now dressed casually, Rin trucked out in a puff of cold air and a really confused look on his face. “Why are you two holding hands over a bloodied unconscious guy on the ground?” Momo realized that it probably did look a little compromising or badass.

“I need you to book this guy and take him in.” Sousuke replied. “He tried to extort some money out of Momo and then tried to attack him with some brass knuckles.”

Rin started blankly at Momo, a bit intimidated by him. “Are you a gangster or something? Stay away from Ai. I don’t want him getting mixed up in this.”

“What?” Momo was a bit offended. “Aren’t you yakuza, I mean, with the teeth, I thought that you were…”

Rin stared at Momo blankly for a moment, trying to come up with some response. “No, I’m a police officer.”

“In training.” Sousuke qualified. “So take this guy in, I’ve got a date.”

Rin reacted strongly. “What the hell do you mean you’ve got a date? Didn’t you think you should mention it to me?”

Momo stepped away from the unconscious man. “With me! I finally got him to agree! My seduction skills are A-plus!”

“Go back inside and wait for me, Momo. I need to change into something a little more date worthy.” Sousuke reached up and mussed his hair before stepping off next door.

“You’re neighbors?” Momo asked Rin, who was lifting up the criminal and dragging him over to the police cruiser.

“Yeah, for a while.” Rin answered, tossing the door open and then throwing the guy across the backseat. “Go inside and wait with Ai. I’ll be back later.” He pulled open the driver’s door while mumbling something about paperwork while Momo headed back inside their apartment.

“I won!” Momo shouted before he ever saw Nitori. “I’m going out with him right now!”

“What?” Nitori sounded shocked as he puttered out of the backroom. “You actually got him to go out with you?” His face was a bit flushed, but Momo was too hyped to notice. “I mean, I don’t want to be rude, but I’ve known Sousuke for a few months and he turned down every date he’s been asked on since then.”

“It’s because he was waiting on me to come get him!” Momo shouted, falling back across the full length of the couch. “I can’t believe this is really happening.”

“Get your shoes off the couch, first of all.” Nitori scolded him, pushing his feet off and sitting in the spot they had occupied. “Where is he now? Where did Rin go?”

“We, uh, had a little bit of a tiff? Long story short, I did stupid stuff to get Sousuke to notice me and some drug dealers came to beat me up but me and Sousuke kicked their asses!” Nitori made a slightly uncomfortable face. “Rin is taking one of them in right now.”

“You mean… you two just got in a huge fight outside now.” Nitori repeated, to make sure.

Momo nodded. “Yeah, is that like a big deal or something?”

“A little!” Nitori whined, not sure how much more of Momo’s slight air-headedness he could put up with. “Is Sousuke getting dressed then?”

“Yeah, that’s what he said.” Momo replied. “Do you think that karaoke bar that the guy in front of us was talking about the other day would be good?”

Nitori shrugged. “I’ve never been there before, so I don’t know. Sousuke doesn’t really seem like the karaoke type, but he’s already surprised me today so who knows? It’s worth a shot and you can always go somewhere else next time.”

Next time? Momo hadn’t even considered that as a possibility! “Dude, you’re right! Man, I love you, Nitori! You’re a great friend.” Momo smirked, clapping Nitori on the shoulder a little.

Nitori chuckled a little nervously and started to blush. “Don’t get too excited, it’s only been a day. I’d hate to disappoint you later.”

Momo shook Nitori’s self-deprecating comment off. “Nah, don’t worry about it too much. I’m pretty easy-going, plus I can’t really see how you’d disappoint me later. I mean, unless you like slept with Sousuke behind mine and Rin’s backs.” Wait, that reminded him of the ring. “Wait, tell me about your ring. I wanted to ask you what the deal with it was earlier.”

Nitori clenched his jaw. “It was a present from Rin last Christmas after he rescued me from my family. They didn’t like that I was gay and were sort of abusive?” A quiet knock echoed through the room. “It’s complicated, I’ll tell you the story another time.”

Momo jumped off the couch in time for the door to open and let in the orange glow of the sunset behind a building across the street.

“I’m here to pick up a date.” Sousuke had discarded his casual wear in favor of a pair of slimming black jeans and a dark gray shirt with a leather jacket tossed casually over it. To the naked eye, it would probably seem like Sousuke put no effort into his outfit. However, he’d spent the better part of the time he was changing poring over his wardrobe to make sure that Momo would find him attractive.

Momo’s heart leapt in his chest, totally overwhelmed by how nicely Sousuke had cleaned up. He couldn’t hide the shift in his legs as Sousuke approached. “H-hi,” Momo eked out, suddenly unsure how to speak.

“Hey Nitori, tell Rin I said thanks again. I’ll repay him later.” He reached out and grabbed Momo’s arm. “You ready to go?” Momo nodded, still too shocked for words. He turned and waved nervously at Nitori and then followed Sousuke out. “You said you had a place in mind?”

He nodded meekly. “Yeah, there’s a karaoke bar I heard about that’s near campus. They said something about the food being really great, so even if you don’t want to sing, we could always get dinner.”

Sousuke nodded with a grunt. “Singing isn’t really my strong suit, honestly. I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to though, it could be interesting.”

Wait, was Sousuke actively flirting with him? Was that something that Momo had expected? Even if it was, Momo didn’t know how to take it. “I’ll give it a shot if you want me to, I can’t really say that I’m a great singer either.”

Momo led Sousuke off back towards their campus with relatively little conversation. It had been a long time since he’d been this nervous with a date, but never so much that he was stunned into silence. Sousuke didn’t seem to mind it though, and he followed Momo without a complaint.

They approached the sign for the bar sooner than Momo had expected and dipped in through the sheet covering the door. “Two, please.” He told the woman working at the receptionist booth. The karaoke bar was relatively small and pretty empty which was to be expected for the middle of the week.

The woman grabbed two menus and led them down the row of booths to one on the far end. Other than the rest of the booths and some strobing lights, the only really noteworthy difference from a normal restaurant was the small stage at the back. Somehow, Momo knew he was going to have to get up there and the thought made him very nervous.

The two sat across from each other on the small red booth seats, taking a moment to order drinks. “I’ll take whatever the drink special is, please.” Momo told the waitress.

“Make that two, please.” Sousuke replied, running his eyes down the menu. The waitress stepped away, leaving them alone for real.

“What’s your major?” Sousuke shirked off his jacket in the warm air. Of course, Momo had to eye his delicious muscles for a moment.

“Undecided.” He said after a long second. “I’m not really sure what I want to do. Did you go to college at all?”

“I went for a few weeks, but I wanted to get into the workforce pretty quick so I enrolled in the police academy instead.” Sousuke explained. “I was on track to be leader of a special ops force, but I tore the ligament in my shoulder in that bank raid.”

And there it was. “Isn’t there some surgery or something you could have to correct it?” Momo asked, still not sure whether it was alright to talk about it.

Sousuke shrugged, but only his right shoulder really moved. “Probably, but I’m not really interested in something like that. It’s more trouble than it’s worth for a few years of glory.”

Momo nodded and buried his face in his menu. He didn’t want Sousuke to see how down he was. Even if Sousuke didn’t blame him for what happened, it was indirectly his fault. “What are you going to eat?”

“Probably soup and fish.” Sousuke replied, pulling the menu out of Momo’s hand.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Momo complained, reaching out to try to grab the slip of laminated paper.

Sousuke was giving him a stern look and it made Momo want to shrink down into his chair. “Don’t get upset about what happened, Momo. It isn’t your fault that it happened. I would’ve jumped in front of you to take that bullet regardless of my personal feelings. It’s my job.”

“It’s really not like that,” he lied. “I’m thinking about what I want to eat.” Momo smiled a little awkwardly, and he knew Sousuke wasn’t going to buy it. The guy was probably trained to spot a liar, and Momo was no master con artist.

“Momo.” Sousuke said seriously. “If you’re really serious about me, then lying on our first date isn’t the best way to go about it.” Of course, he was right.

“I know but I can’t help feeling sort of responsible.” Momo said, sitting back as the waitress came with his drink. Sousuke ordered for both of them and the waitress gave them a sort of weird look as she left.

Before Sousuke could continue their conversation, Momo tossed his drink back, not pausing to take a breath. He really needed something to wet his throat or else his voice would squeak and he’d be really embarrassed.

“You’re not responsible.” Sousuke repeated. “If anything, you should be lucky that bullet didn’t blow your head off.” Okay, Momo had gotten the point that he was lucky things didn’t go a thousand times worse than they did. He could’ve ended up a pretty blood spatter all over the bank floor. Then who would’ve dated Sousuke? Probably someone way less hot than Momo.

Momo sighed, ignoring the tingling in the back of his throat. “I know you’re right, but can you blame me? I’ve been thinking about you for the better part of three months and we finally meet and you’re kind of jacked up.” He was pouting a little, but tried to cheer up. “Let’s talk about something else, okay? We should get to know each other better.”

The two spent the next half-hour speaking while they waited on food. Momo didn’t think much of his drinks and probably had two or three more to quell his nervous stomach. By the time they went to eat, Momo was in a much better mood, though a bit lightheaded.

As far as he was concerned, who cared about food? He was on a date with a hot guy and wanted to sing karaoke! Momo stood from his chair, a bit wobbly, and headed over to the bored-looking man at the DJ stand. After a second, the lights dimmed and Momo trotted to the middle of the stage. He picked the perfect song to sing to.

The first beat of the song hit and the lights came back up, brighter than they were before. “If the weapon is your love, I got my hands up!” Momo sang, a bit blinded and losing his footing as he tried to poorly dance along. In a second, his foot slipped down the single, short step and he face planted into the carpet.

Sousuke had been in the middle of taking sip of his drink for the first time when Momo fell. His drink was alcoholic even though he hadn’t ordered any. Of course, if it was close to the campus, they would serve to minors if they said something stupid like ‘I want the special’.

Sousuke stood up so fast that the booth seat, unattached to anything, flipped over onto the floor with a loud bang. Honestly, it was probably lucky the table didn’t flip as well. Momo had hit the floor and wasn’t moving. Sousuke swooped in and rolled him face up in his arms.

“Momo, are you alright?” Sousuke slapped his face a bit to rouse him, but it seemed like he’d passed out. A few of the staff had gathered round to check on them. “Why the hell would you give a minor alcohol? I’m a cop, for crying out loud!”

Sousuke stood, wincing a bit as the weight came down on his shoulder. Momo didn’t weigh quite as much as he expected, but it was still a bit more than his shoulder could handle. “I’ll come pay tomorrow, open a tab or whatever.” He huffed, deciding to piggy back Momo instead.

It still gave Sousuke’s shoulder a bit of a twinge, but not nearly as much as bridal-style carrying. Heading out the door, he headed down the street with Momo’s warm breath on the nape of his neck. Sousuke wasn’t sure why Momo was so enamored with him, but Sousuke found him sort of cute and perky.

It was a lot different than the last few people he’d dated, even if one of the people he wanted to be with was Rin. They were friends in middle school, but lost contact when Rin moved to Australia. They hadn’t met again until Rin moved to the city and joined the police academy. Sousuke had chosen to mentor him almost immediately. He was more than willing to start making moves until met Nitori. Rin had explained the circumstances and Sousuke wasn’t willing to homewreck the two of them over something stupid like a decade old crush.

Sousuke had always hated living between the entertainment district and the campus, but he was never happier than when he could toss Momo’s unconscious body down on his couch and collapse in a nearby chair in a cold sweat. He’d taxed his shoulder more than he should’ve and would probably catch hell for it the next time he went to the doctor, but it was worth it to see Momo’s drooling face on his couch.

Popping a painkiller, Sousuke changed into his pajamas and laid back on his bed with a satisfied smile on his face.

Momo awoke the next morning with a pounding between his ears and confused look on his face. He was in an unfamiliar apartment. The layout was sort of similar to Rin and Nitori’s but the furniture was all dark green and arranged weirdly. Whether Nitori stuck his bag inside or Sousuke went and got it, Momo didn’t know. All he did know was that he had seventy million messages and missed calls on his phone from Sei.

He had conveniently forgotten to call his brother and inform him of his date and was totally at a loss for what actually happened. Momo remembered getting up on stage and that was it. What had he even been talking to Sousuke about, now that he thought of it?

Momo punched a few buttons on his phone and Sei picked up on the first ring. “Where the hell have you been, bro?” Sei screamed, prompting Momo to pull the phone away from his ear.

“Sorry, dude. I had a date last night and I guess some stuff ended up happening and I’m at a friend’s apartment near the school.” He explained, knowing Sei wouldn’t take his excuse well.

“Don’t miss class because you’re all hungover or whatever, Momo.” He scolded him. “And come home as soon as your classes are over. You’ve got to stop going out at night. It’s getting out of hand now that you’re back in school again.” Sei sighed into the other end, and Momo knew that he had to come clean about the thing with Sousuke. He hadn’t realized that he worried his brother so much.

“There’s some stuff I need to tell you about when I get back.” Momo replied. Sei probably knew that Momo was a little bicurious, but now that he was dating a guy, it would probably be in his best interest to express his bisexuality firsthand.

“Alright, have a good day. I’ll see you tonight.” Sei replied. “Call me if anything comes up in the meantime, you know I love you, man.”

Momo sniffled a little, overcome by emotion in his hungover state. “I love you too, Sei.”

“Don’t cry in front of whoever you’re dating, Momo.” He laughed. “It’s uncool, and you know you have to stay cool at all times. That’s what being a Mikoshiba brother is all about!” Of course Sei would make a big deal about it.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Momo saw the door open across the room and Sousuke’s yawning body walked out. “Hey, I have to go, I’ll see you later.”

“Later, bro.” Momo hit the end button.

Sousuke walked around the counter and into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. “Forget to call someone last night?” He teased.

“Sei was pissed.” Momo explained, laying back down. “What time is it?”

Sousuke turned to check the clock on the stove. “It’s about to be nine. When do you have class?”

“Ten, but my head is killing me. What happened?” Momo prompted, putting his arm across his eyes to block out the light.

“Turns out that your little karaoke bar gives liquor to people that order the ‘special’.” Sousuke brought a glass of water and a bottle of ibuprofen to the coffee table in front of where Momo was splayed out.

Momo leaned forward, fumbling with the lid to the bottle. “So you’re telling me I got sloshed and barely remember our first date? Did you carry me back here?”

Sousuke chuckled a little, sitting down in the chair across from the couch again. “Probably. It was really cute the way you sang one line off-key and then collapsed. The wait-staff thought you were dead.” He teased.

“Oh my god, did I really?” Momo’s face paled. “I’m so sorry, I’m so embarrassing.” He groaned, finally prying the cap off the medicine bottle. Two orange pills later, and he hoped his headache would lessen before he had to go sit through two lectures.

“Yeah, but it was cute.” Sousuke smirked. “How do you feel about pancakes for breakfast?”

“Hold up, you can cook?” Momo sat the empty glass back down.

“When you live alone for a couple years, you kind of have to learn.” Sousuke didn’t think much of it, but Momo was amazed. Not being able to cook himself, he took great pleasure in finding a boyfriend that could. Wait, were they boyfriends?

“So are we like… official then?” Momo prompted, wanting to know how serious Sousuke was.

“Depends on if you like chocolate chips in your pancakes or not.” Sousuke stood and padded back into the kitchen, thankful that his shoulder didn’t ache nearly as badly as he expected it to.

“The answer is yes! Of course I like chocolate chips in my pancakes!” Momo practically screamed. Sousuke was surprised no one from upstairs beat on the ceiling.

“Then get over here and we’ll have breakfast, Momo.” Sousuke smirked, more than ready for the peach that had bowled into his life.


End file.
